The Roots Of Success

The Miami Tropicana Horsemen defeated Broward's Law `n' Order twice to win the Roots Basketball Tournament.

"You couldn't ask for a more exciting finish," said coordinator Fred Grice of the tournament's 25th championship.

In a battle of unbeaten teams Aug. 4 at Pompey Park, the Miami Tropicana Horsemen came from behind to knock Broward's Law `n' Order into the losers' bracket with a 55-50 victory.

Maurice Troup led all scorers with 14 points.

Law `n' Order won the losers' bracket to face the Horsemen again in the first game of the double-elimination championship, this time prevailing 58-48. Law `n' Order could not hold on to a 25-16 halftime lead and trailed after the third quarter 40-38. But Sean Ryals hit three 3-pointers and a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter as Law outscored the Horsemen 20-8 to force a third game.

By this time, both teams knew each other very well. And both were tired.

In the third and final game between then two teams, strong shooting by Robins Chery scored eight points in the second quarter as Tropicana built a 39-27 lead at the half. Ray Lugue's eight points in the third gave the Horsemen a 54-35 lead entering the final quarter. They went on to win the game 67-49 and capture the championship.

"We had teams from as far away as Jacksonville," said Grice said. "[Elton] Tyler, who played at the University of Miami, played for Law `n' Order and Udonis Haslem [University of Florida, who played in the Atlanta Hawks summer league] was here, but his team lost."

Grice, who is a recreation specialist for the City of Lake Worth, took over the tournament 15 years ago when he worked for the City of Delray Beach.

"It's a great thing for the community," he said. "The local teams get a lot of support. But people come out to see some excellent basketball, and the place gets a little noisy come championship time, regardless of who's playing."

He said that 25 years ago, the Roots Festival "started as a weekend neighborhood celebration. But now there are events nearly year-round and there are all kinds of cultural offerings, as well as sporting events. This gives our kids an opportunity to be seen and show their talents to the community and to some colleges, and that's good for them and for the community."

Tommy Stevens has been involved with the Roots Festival since its second year. For 19 years, he served as a volunteer chairman, but became a paid executive director three years ago with the help of a grant.

"The community has always been involved with the Festival, and basketball has always been a big part of that," he said.

Originally, both youth and adult tournaments were held on the same weekend, but because of the popularity of the event, Grice moved the youth festival. That festival has run on the Fourth of July weekend for the past eight years.

"The sport has really grown, and we've outgrown Pompey Park," Stevens said. "Fred gets some excellent teams here. This has become known as one of the best tournaments, not just in Florida, but in the nation, so we get teams and coaches from all over who want to see what we've got to show off this year."